I loved it.

Luv’d it, luv’d it, luv’d it. Gotta thank you all for swinging through my neck of the woods to share your talents right here in my back yard...its a rare and amazing thing to experience indeed and I thank you! GROOVE ON ya'll, keep grooving on…

So here’s how it went down…I was planning on getting down their earlier in the day to maybe catch them rehearsing or sound checking or something. But of course things didn’t go quite as planned and I had some sudden meetings that came up and also one of the folks I was bringing to the show got caught in 95 traffic coming down from NYC and since they didn’t know the way to the venue so I needed to wait for them before splitting…turns out I didn’t get to the show as early as I wanted to, but that’s cool.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as the crowd. I mean Richmond radio does not, I mean simply does NOT play Meshells records at all. Period. Notta. Of course I know some people in town who dig her, but on the whole I would have guessed that most of the Richmond folks who heard the radio spots advertising the show probably didn’t even know who she was. So honestly, I was thinking that the crown would be pretty darn small. But actually, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a line at the gate when I got there and by the time she came on stage it was a healthy Friday night crowd. My guess is that many traveled from the surrounding areas to see her as well (DC, Norfolk etc)…but either way, I thought it was a nice sized crowd indeed. (More on some of them later…)

So hears how it went down…DJ Jahi Sundance came out and spun a very cool mixture of Jazz and hip-hop sounds blending pure jass tracks with pure hip-hop tracks. Very very cool…like Night in Tunisia over the rythym track to a jam that I can’t place right now…it was some grooving stuff though. So while he’s spinning one of these mixes, without any fanfare or announcement at all…meshell and the band walk out strap on their instruments and swing right in with the jazz groove and morph it into their own jazz groove.

Sounding good too…real good.

I notice heads around me bobbing. Yeah this is niiiice. Meshell on bass of course is doing her thing.

For those who are concerned with the fashion thang (I’m not, but I know some are) she was sportin’ some jeans, a rolled up blue shirt with some kind of pattern, and a gray checkered hat…what my daughter calls an ‘old man hat’ which is basically an Andy Capp type or ‘apple jack’ hat. Or for those who may not know who the hell Andy Capp is , a Reuben Studdard type hat. I have a collection of these hats myself and I was actually wearing a black one on at the show too. So there…there’s your Joan Rivers style fashion report J

Back to the grooves…and they were grooves ya’ll. This was Jazz…the real deal. The true thang. This wasn’t some instrumental version of a pop song (thank god), no this was truly inspired compositions enhanced by truly improvisational performances. This was gutsy lay it out there and play what you feel type stuff. Like the current description says when you enter Freemyheart.com… “…Inspired by life, Miles Davis, Kool Carl, Carl Sagan & the holy scripture…’’ this was on some Miles Davis or John Coltrane’s ‘Love Supreme’ album vibe…the grooves perculated and bounced and swelled and then hushed…then turned then stopped…then started again…then sped up and slowed down…it was a journey.

After the first tune from the band, DJ Sundance announced that this would be an ‘all instrumental’ set and to be ‘open’ to it. I already knew this of course, but my guess is that some people did not. I could tell the folks in front of me weren’t expecting that. They kinda looked at each other with a perplexed expression “What, she’s not going to sing??” But they stayed put nevertheless, perhaps to see what was gonna happen…they stayed open to the experience. Apparently, as another person already posted, right after that instrumental announcement some folks in the back left at that point, I assume they were expecting the ‘vocal’ version of meshell. I didn’t personally see any folks leave, but then again I was close to the front, and am too short to see over much of anything anywayJ. So I guess some folks split right there. They weren’t as ‘open’ to the potential experience as the folks sitting in front of me.

Whatever…I ain’t wasting too much of my time worrying about other folks tastes, ‘openness’…or lack there of. I’ve got my own groove to get on, ya know?….

So back to that…
The groove. This was a groove…a jam session…an exploration. It was sometimes beautiful and sometimes funky. It was sometimes hypnotic and sometimes intense. It was simple, clever and complex. It was always…always groovy. It was jazz…jazz as jazz could be and should be as far as I’m concerned.

They didn’t announce the names of the compositions and I don’t even know how many they played really. They would play with the tempo and switch it up so that you would think they had moved on to another tune and then they’d swing it back around and flow in the main melody again from the previous jam and you’d be like ‘whoa shit that was sweet…go ahead ya’ll!’ They seemed to be enjoying each other…

That’s what I noticed in person and on those photos from the midtown festival that are posted at http://www.freemyheart.com …Meshell seems to be really enjoying herself and her role in this group. She seems happy. When she’s playing, she gets ‘in the zone’ so to speak…she is really INTO her instrument. I love seeing that. Most of the time her eye’s are closed too and she’ll be mouthing the bass lines with her lips just as she’s playing them with her hands. She’s ‘in there and connected’ for real. The ‘bass face’ is often in effect J.

When she does open her eye’s she’s usually looking at the drummer Chris Dave and interacting her instrument with his. It’s really enjoyable to watch. Chris gets into is own zone as well. This sextet is absolutely perfect for his style of drumming…he seems to have a great time playing with the rythyms… and the rythyms on top of rythyms. I was very very impressed…dude has mad skills and I must happily eat some crow. (some may remember a year or two ago I reviewed one of the very first shows that he had performed with Meshells other ‘funk oriented’ group… and back then, while I was impressed with is ‘top level’ skills I had some problems on a few songs with some of ‘the bottom’ drumming. To be fair though, at that time they had had little or no rehearsal time as a group …and I think I remember them saying they used that concert itself as a type of jam session rehearsal…plus I was probably still a little sad over the breakup of the Bretheren back then too
At any rate…there were NO problems last night with ANY part of the drumming. Amazing stuff Chris.

The rest of the band were super talented as well. Micheal Caine on Piano, Peck Allmond on trumpet and a few other instruments, Jahi on the turntables and I was very impressed with Oliver Lake on Sax…. dude was killing it.

It was a smoking set. A journey. A very rewarding one if you are open to it…you should close your eyes, open your ears and just see where that takes you.

There were two older cats beside me…I got the impression that one of them had already experienced either Meshell live or The Spirit Music Sextet live before and had brought his buddy here to check it out for the first time…they were loving it. The new dude who was likely a first timer was really digging it…when the band would do some cool change-up he would be like…’whoaaa…woww!” pumping his fists in the air. And his ‘meshell experienced’ buddy would say things like…’see, I told you man, I told you!”

And the folks in front of me…the ones who obviously expected to hear a vocal Meshell Ndegeocello performance instead of an instrumental Spirit Music Sextet performance…well their heads were bobbin for most of the show whole show and at the end they were on their feet for the encore. They stayed open, and were rewarded.

This was a Jazz show. Now i knew that going in… but like I said I could tell some of the folks around me didn’t. That’s not all their fault that they were expecting a vocal meshell show because there were some inconsistencies in the pre-concert promotions. Initially the radio & print ads billed it as Meshell Ndegeocello. There was an article in this weeks local paper that said Meshell would be in town promoting Comfort Woman with her dub reaggae soul sound and that the opening act would be The Spirit Music Sextet. Only recently the the local website change the billing from ‘Meshell Ndegeocello’ to ‘The Spirit Music Sextet featuring Meshell Ndegeocello’ so I can understand how those folks who may have paid and driven a ways expecting one thing may have been surprised when they actually got their and they heard the announcement that it was going to be something else. (After all not everyone hits FMH.com and Okayplayer like some of us doJ). So yeah, I can see where that lack of clarity in some the pre show promotions may have confused expectations and maybe pissed some people off if they aren’t open to Jazz.That said once you got there, and once they announced that it was going to be an instrumental gig…you either listen to the experience, or you leave and try to get a refund…you don’t sit there and ask her to ‘sing’…you don’t moan or boo after the band leaves the stage as some knuckleheads did…you don’t do that…at least GROWN UPS don’t do that. There was one huge drunken dude who after the show was screaming incoherently something about ‘they wouldn’t have done this in a bigger town!’…I assume he was inferring that it was the band itself that decided at the last moment to play jazz here in Richmond because they thought they could get away with it here? I guess that’s what he was inferring…of course the numbskull was completely wrong and in fact we were LUCKY to be getting the SAME rare jazz type set in the normally musically devoid Richmond that BIGGER places like Atlanta, New Orleans, New York, California, Spain, France, Canada, UK were also getting. But dude was a drunken idiot… and before my short ass could go over there to explain that to him (and probably get pummeled in the process thank my wife for calming me down) a kindly officer of the law kindly escorted mr. nimbwit out.

People people people…

So for every person who may have been disappointed, there were probably two or three who were not and had a great time. There were even some folks who themselves may not have expected an instrumental performance an may not normally listen to jazz, but ended up having a positive experience just the same. I saw there was a nice little crowd of folks who waited around at the front of the stage hoping to meet the band afterwards (I couldn’t stay since I had a group of people with me who had to hit the road right away… note to self: next time Meshell comes to town…go by myself so that I can hang out afterwards if I want to J)…but the folks at the stage showed that there was indeed hope fr Richmond after all. I saw a few people I know as we were leaving who were farmiliar with Meshell on record, I asked them what they thought…”Man they kicked ass…not what I was expecting but they kicked ass…people ain’t ready.” Nope. Indeed.

So agin thanks to the entire band and crew for sharing your talents with us...rest assured the experience was a positive & satisfying one for those of us who were open and took the time to listen. Thanks for the love...and hope you'all could feel the love that many of us who enjoyed ourselves were sending back your way as well.

Groove on people...

thank you for sharing that Derek

As always, Derek, an amazingly dope and detailed review. You've got a great knack for making me feel like I'm there and I thank you.

great review derek! i felt the same way after seening them perform. glad you got chance to see them.

Derek.. While I appreciate your biased opinion of the events in Richmond.. I have to tell you.. To take off the Rose Colored Glasses.. And I am most certainly a Grownup.. *wink* Although I was led to believe that this was going to include a vocal performance. I love jazz, funk.. world,, MUSIC period..

People this was not an performance. This came across as a rehearsal. One moment you would be nodding your head and the next moment .. Bewildered.... The melodies just did not blend that often. But I have to give props to the Drummer.. He really held up his end.... But concering the rest. I have heard better Jazz,fusion, in the local Hampton Roads area.

Now.. I had a pretty good view of the crowd and I have to say there were people leaving.. People walking around.. People talking.. The music just did not "capture".. I think it was "sad" that they used her name to have people come out to hear the "Spirit Music Sextet.. She was not in the forefront,, and I don't ever recall her saying a word.

I have to admit I was one of the ones who left the park early.. I stayed till at least 9:15pm. Which was too long.....

Am I disappointed in not hearing her perform any vocals.. Damn Right.. But Not disappointed enough not to "keep it real"

Also for those of you who worship entertainers.. I am a fan of real musicianship.. and on 7/2.. That is exactly what was lacking.....

**leaving out something**** Meshell did a good job on the bass.. And it probably would have been better with just her and the drummer. Since they seemed to connect more on stage...

hey Dee...

i really don't think my review reflected Rose Colored glasses at all. I'm the first to admit that i am a huge fan of Meshell's stuff, but that hasn't prevented me from being critical of certain performances or recordings in the past. (if thats what you're inferring?)

If you didn't 'boo' then you aren't one of the people i suggested didn't react in a 'grown-up' fashion. (I think i only inferred that the folks who 'boo'd' were acting 'non-grown').

I never denied in my review that folks actually left...i said the may very well have left and apparently did, but from where i was and with my somewhat uh... heheh...'height challenged' situation... i couldn't see ANYTHING but the folks on stage in front of me and the people in the audience directly around me...all of which stayed put the entire show.

I agree with you 100% that if you went to the show based on the local pre-show promotions alone, then you were probably indeed mislead to think you would get one thing when in actuality you got another. (Ah if only veryone came to FMH first . But as I said in my review, THAT was NOT the people in the audience's fault, THAT had more to do with the Promoters lack of clarity in their advertising. And that was bad...and i understand why some folks might have been pissed because of that inaccuracy in some of the local pre-concert promotions. Its about setting up the proper expectations after all...and expectations are very powerful things. I've used this analogy before...if i'm drinking a glass of cold pepsi (which i enjoy) and i sit it down and look away for a sec, and then while i'm not looking lets say someone switches my pepsi with a glass of chocholate milk (which i also enjoy).....well if i take a drink from that glass without realizing it was switched, my initial reaction will be to spit it out...'pppttttheah!!'...NOT because i don't like chocholate milk, but rather because i was EXPECTING something else...expectations can be a powerful things indeed...

so... i might humbly suggest you keep that in mind when you critique the performance itself...

I absolutely stand by my critique of the performance itself. Then again, I knew going in what to expect, so perhaps i had the advantage of having some farmiliarity of expectations and with some of the material.

I thought Meshell's, Chris's & Oliver's work stood out most...and said that in my review.

Was the show 'perfect'? nope. Was it supposed to be? nope. But it is too bad you left early though because i can pretty much guarantee you that anyone who stayed will probably tell you that the last 4-5 jams may have been some of the best of the bunch...

Like i said i stand by my review...glasses are off. The local paper also reviewed the show and they came up with a similar assessment (again, depending on your "perspective and flexibility")...see it attached below...

"MUSIC REVIEW
MESHELL NDEG?OCELLO
WHERE:
Kanawha Plaza WHEN:
Last night

Meshell Ndegeocello is full of surprises.

The genre-bending bassist, never one for convention, led a sextet on-stage at Kanawha Plaza and began playing a vocal-less tune called "Dragon's Run." The band then announced that the evening's performance would be strictly instrumental.

What followed at Fridays at Sunset was either a) a farce or b) one of the most original and virtuoso jazz performances to hit these parts in some time. It all depends on your perspective and your flexibility.

Some audience members went with the flow and bobbed their heads to the groove. But as the evening wore on, others displayed a studied bemusement, as if trying to figure out if they were the victims of a cruel joke.


"Maybe that's the problem," one observer said. "She's always one step ahead of her audience."

Ndegeocello's Spirit Music Sextet featured the formidable Oliver Lake on saxophone, Peck Allmond on trumpet, Chris Dave on drums, Michael Cain on keyboards and Jahi Sundance manning the turntable and special effects. It played a brand of trippy jazz infused with the spirit of 1970s-era Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Weather Report.

Meshell hung near the back of the stage, her diminutive figure dominated by a floppy newsboy hat and her guitar. What she lacked in stage presence she more than made up for with fluid, resonant bass runs as deep and funky as Shockoe Bottom on a steamy July day. She was smokin'.

Dave's stickwork complemented Meshell in propelling the sustained groove. Keyboardist Cain provided atmospherics for the soaring horn riffs of Lake and Allmond, who were outstanding throughout. Sundance provided snatches of spoken words from Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X.

As is often the case with Ndegeocello, the music was evocative and intensely personal, even without lyrics. To unveil it without warning before a notoriously conservative Richmond crowd was either an act of tremendous courage or the height of arrogance.

"I just want to thank you for your time and your patience," Ndegeocello said as the band began to depart the stage after "Papillon." The crowd went from passive to aggressively hostile, showering the sextet with boos.

"We live in Maryland and we came down here to see the Meshell whose records we buy," said Sherilyn George of Columbia, Md. She said the music was "a nice groove, a nice vibe" but "not what we expected."

Backstage after the show, Ndegeocello said the sextet has been touring for 10 months, and will be leaving for Europe next week. It is releasing an album in September called "Dance of the Infidels."

"Part of the reason I don't sing anymore is I'm tired of singing about sex and love" to get on the radio, she said. She called jazz "the purest experience."

"It's so stagnant," she said of the audience reaction. "People are caught up in one thing, and that's just death."

Moments earlier, the sextet had returned for an encore, playing to a small but enthusiastic throng around the stage. But at the conclusion of "Luqman," as the band departed, at least one dissident could be heard.

"Sing one song!" he cried out.

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com"

but...you know, dig what you dig, don't what you don't...no sweat by me really...but I'd just make sure its not the 'expectation element'... the 'pepsi, chocholate milk switch' that's actually affecting the perception on the performance itself...because if so, you just might've missed out on something that might've quenched your thirst just as well in a different way...

much love to ya'll
derek

This message has been edited. Last edited by: derek,

i enjoy instrumental music very much, whether its jazz, new wave/world music, or classical...so this new turn meshell is taking, i dig very much...

i've been to her show in new orleans and went to the one in richmond as well..and i'm going to peep her show in nyc w/mos def too...

about the show in richmond...i thought everyone was digging it for real...so when i heard the boos at the end of the set i was surprised...i didn't think it was rude for some folks to walk around, because it is a festival; and wherever you walk you can still hear the music, because of the openness of it...

richmond did flub on the advertising, because when she performed in new orleans @ hob they did promote as the spirit music sextet featuring meshell...so in new orleans you knew what was up...so meshell shouldn't be blamed for richmonds advertising faux pas...

i don't think people are upset about her music...i think people are upset that she is not singing/talking anymore...i think the non-verbal communication is messing them up...they are so used to her being so open and honest verbally, that they are having a hard time adjusting with her translating her openness and honesty through music, not words...non-verbal communication is the deepest form of communication and the most difficult to understand and grasp if you are not paying close attention nor listening carefully...verbal communication is right there in your face, you know what's up right off...non-verbal you got to dig a litte deeper, open yourself up a little more, be a little more vulnerable...the only thing i can suggest is that if we truly love her and her music, that we stay open, suffer long with her, and let her take us on her journey and just be happy she wants us in her world...cause she could say freak it and do the beautiful down in the basement some where for no one to hear...

side note, i thought it took a lot of courage and humility for her to do an encore performance after the audience booed her...that's true love for the fans...to say even though you don't accept it right now, i'm gone play for you hoping that one day you gone get it...

i love you too baby...and i'll take it if no body else want it...just more love for me...

At this point in Me'shells evolution as an artist y'all who've been following her career for a while should know that her artistry comes first. Being the "commercialy challeneged" recording artist and musician that she is, combined with the fact that (at least for now) the spirit music sextet is an independent project allows her to take the musical journeys that her heart desires since there's absolutley nothing at risk. I think that is all Me'shell ever wants in the first place.
I'm intrigued by some of the reviews of the recent shows becuase I have heard the record and while it is different then me'shell's solo work I really do not feel it's a further departure for her then her "Just becuase I'm a woman" Dolly parton cover or her "White man's burden" soundtrack cut stylistically - sanz the vocals, of course (which will probably make all the difference considering her signature vocal styles).
While the new Music is very Miles, in an open structure free type fo way, it is still , IMO , very "Me'shell".
While it may not appeal to Pop, R&b, or Rock fans at all, I still think it's a journey worth taking.

Peace.

DAMN i wish she would come to chicago!!!!! i can't wait to hear that shit.
grrrrrrr....

Derek I just want to say that you review pretty much summed up the evening. Including the dude standing behind me boo-ing during the encore. I wondered why he didn't just leave.

I do remember coming to this site when the Fridays at Sunset line up was posted, and there was no mention of a Sextet. I can feel the Richmond croud when they say that left angry and confused. A lot of the Richmonders travel over 2 hours to see Mechell and to finally have her perform in our own backyard was a huge step for Richmond. When she didn't sing or even solo I was confused.

I'm sure some of the fans there were upset cause this was the first time seeing Mechell. But hey that's just me. I mean I drove to DC and saw her last October playing a kick ass solo. Lets see that's $30gas, $40 lunch and dinner, $40 tickets plus drinks = to hear Mechell in her home state priceless. When she left the stage, so did half of the 9:30 club audience. I guess most of the croud didn't know Soulive.

Anyway back to the Richmond show. Those that stayed the entire 4 song set got very upset by the DJs comment about this being a free show. His attitude was very unprofessional. Jah didn't have the right information and should have kept cool about the whole situation. He should have just ignore the dude who insisted on booing the band. I spoke with Jah after the show and he apologized.

I think you are gonna find mixed reviews. There were things that I loved about the show and some I just didn't get. I would start with the lack of commucation between the promoter and band.

Damn ... damn ... damn ...

Derek, I been reading your posts here for a minute, and I must say that after that review I feel as if I know you a little better. More specifically, I could feel the show through your words perfectly, since you described things as I know I would have experienced them. gracias!

I only hope that I will be blessed enough to catch a show before me'shell changes things up again to a new vibe.